Hands on with the T-Mobile G1

An in-depth and hands-on look at the phone everyone's talking about

Zooming in or out of webpages is more laborious than on the iPhone, because Android’s browser opts for dedicated zoom in/zoom out keys. However, these two magnifying glass icons kept disappearing, meaning we often clicked on embedded webpage links when we just wanted the zoom icons to reappear.

But, the alternative option of sweeping a magnifying glass rectangle over the page with your fingertip is a useful tool.

Android also has an iPhone App Store-esque shop called Android Market that lets developers upload their own applications for use on the Google platform. We peeked inside several categories, which include Games and Lifestyle, and found that most were already bursting with potential downloads.

Up to 7.2Mb/s HSDPA 3G

Be warned though, the applications aren’t free and prices are set by individual developers. Payment’s made by credit card, in a very similar fashion to iTunes’ payment process.

Navigating your way through the various applications and icons is easy, as you can either pinpoint which one you want with your finger or slide a cursor over your choice with the G1’s Blackberry-esque tracker ball.

If photography’s more your thing, then you’ll be disappointed by the G1. It sports a 3.2-megapixel snapper, but the camera’s not capable of zooming in or capturing video.